Impacto Econômico da Reserva Legal Sobre Diferentes Tipos de Unidades de Produção Agropecuária

This paper aims to analyze the economic impact of the legal reserve on the gross margin of different types of farms located in the watershed of the Oriçanga River – in São Paulo state, Brazil. In order to reach such purpose, a typology of farmers was elaborated for the watershed. Two farmer types were selected for a detailed study: small farmers with low technology and citrus producers. The productive structure of both types was modeled through the recursive programming method, comprising the period between 2002/03 and 2008/09. The current farm system adopted by each type was confronted with two scenarios for legal reserve compensation: I) through the reallocation of productive areas within the farms and sustainable management of natural vegetation recovery in order to explore the production of timber; II) through the spontaneous growth of natural vegetation. Results highlight the importance of policies aimed to obtain a more equitable distribution of environmental conservation costs in the society, as well as the importance of locational adjustments of the legal reserves, in order to reach a better equilibrium between the preservation of biodiversity and the opportunity cost of land.